A big Running Tour of 18 miles (29 km) with Alina, one thousand discoveries in Paris!
Alina – Running in the “Jardin des Plantes” (Garden of the Plants) 9:05 AM – Alina, from New York, in the midst of preparations for a marathon, wished to visit Paris but fully respecting her training plan. This day, a long run was planned: we ran 18 miles (29 kilometers)… Ideal to see Paris! Paris is vast and rich in interesting places. What do we see in Paris by running on a long distance? Water: the Ourcq Canal, the Saint Martin Canal, the “Bassin de l’Arsenal”, the river Seine… The river Seine squares: the “Place de la République”, the “Place des Vosges”, the “Place de la Bastille”, the “Place de la Contrescarpe”, the “Place de l’Alma”, the “Place de la Concorde”, … “Place de la Concorde” museums: the National Museum of Natural History, the Army Museum (Invalides), the Rodin Museum, the Guimet Museum, the Galleria Palace, the Palace of Tokyo, the Museum of Modern Art, the “Petit” and “Grand Palais”, the “Jeu de Paume”, the “Orangerie”, the Louvre, the Grévin Museum, the Orsay Museum… bridges: the Bridge of Austerlitz, the Bridge of Carrousel, the Royal Bridge, the Bridge of “la Concorde”, the Alexandre III Bridge, the Bir Hakeim Bridge, the Bridge of “l’Alma”, the Bridge of Arts… the “Pont des Arts” (in the background, the Museum of the Louvre) famous boulevards and avenues, numerous statues, splendid monuments, secular churches, beautiful covered passages… parks and gardens: the “Buttes Chaumont”, the garden of Luxembourg, the “Champ de Mars”, the gardens of the Trocadéro, the “cours de La Reine”, the garden of the Tuileries, the garden of the Plants where we greeted some animals: Alina and the Stegosaurus of the garden of the Plants Alina and the Mammoth of the garden of the Plants and of course the “Tour Eiffel”! Paris is beautiful and has so many amazing aspects! Merci Alina ! The route of the big tour:
Two sports tours in Paris with Rosalie
Rosalie – Medici Fountain – Luxembourg garden 9:04 AM – With Rosalie, who comes from the beautiful city of Quebec, we made two visits of Paris by running. An important mist covered Paris the first day, making buildings and monuments hardly visible: Rosalie – The dome of the Invalides can slightly be seen Where are the towers of Notre-Dame, usually visible since the bank? The Musée d’Orsay getting free of the mist (in the right of the photo) And there, what is this monument which is in the background of the photo? Yes!… The Eiffel Tower which we find a little farther, a little less veiled: On our way, we admired a work of Dubuffet, installed for the occasion of the FIAC : Rosalie – “Petit Palais” – Welcome Parade, of Jean Dubuffet – 2008 and a little bit further west, the beautiful Galliera palace, the Paris Museum of Fashion: Rosalie – “Palais Galleria” For our second run, the sky was a little more clear. Our first strides led us near to the Pantheon, place “Sainte Geneviève”: Rosalie – “Place du Panthéon” – The Panthéon. On the left, the “Sainte-Geneviève” library and in the background, the Saint-Étienne-du-Mont church. We went to greet the oldest tree of Paris, a Black Locust tree planted in 1601 by the botanist Jean Robin (the tree is native of North America) : Rosalie – “Square René Viviani” After the Museum of Fashion, we went to see the first shop of the famous shoes creator, Christian Louboutin (notice that the shop occupies the premises of a former printing office): Rosalie – In front of the Christian Louboutin’s first shop, in the Véro Dodat gallery Back on the Left bank, we ran on the old pavements of the “Cour du Commerce Saint André”, next to one of the oldest Cafés in Europe (1682): the Café Procope, just under Benjamin Franklin’s eyes who was one of the regular customers of the Café (we say that he would have written a part of the United States Constitution there): Rosalie – “Cour du Commerce Saint André” A kind newspaper seller was kind enough to take the last photo of our tour. Funny of to have the view of a newspaper seller inside his kiosk! Rosalie, Paris Running Tour – Avenue of the Général Leclerc Merci Rosalie ! The routes of the tours :
14 miles visiting Paris while running to prepare the New-York marathon, with Jess
Jess – “Pont des Arts” (Bridge of the Arts) and view on the Island of the City (“île de la Cité”) 7h11 – Jess, marathon runner of New York (USA), in business trip in Paris, had two objectives by making a running tour: discover Paris and make a long run to prepare the New York marathon. We thus made a running of 14 miles (23 km) in Paris, distance which allows a beautiful visit of the city and the discovery of its numerous aspects. At first, a short pause to remember the objective, 26.2 miles (42.195 km) in New York: Jess – Avenue de New-York Then, from the avenue of New York, a small ascent (light preparation of the hilly New York marathon route) to join the Esplanade of the Trocadéro, the most beautiful view on the Eiffel Tower: Jess – “Esplanade du Trocadéro” We then leave the Eiffel Tower by the “Champ de Mars”: Jess – “Champ de Mars” Formerly used for military maneuvers, the Champ de Mars is now an ideal training ground for the runners: firm and supple hard-packed surface, buckle of 2 km, garden always opened (without railings), enlightened paths… Perfect circuit for the early morning runners! Much more east of Paris, it is on the sandy soil of the Lutetia arenas that we ran: Jess – “Arènes de Lutèce” Nowadays, we meet “pétanque” players or amateur soccer players there… About 2 000 years ago, there, we could see gladiators fighting, wild animals and also theater plays. Paris, at the time, was Roman and was called Lutetia. Of course, we did not miss numerous majors places of Paris, for example, the “Pont des Arts” (as we can see in the first photo of this article with its beautiful view on the Island of the City) or the Louvre Pyramid: Jess – The Louvre pyramid Since this sports stroll in Paris, Jess ran the marathon of New York with a beautiful performance. Paris Running Tour hopes to have contributed to this a little… 😉 Merci Jess ! The route of the tour :
Medieval art, Art nouveau, Modern Art, 10 miles (16 km) in Paris with Lysa
Lysa – Ile de la Cité (Island of the City) 7:03 AM – With Lysa, from Buffalo (New York), we made a 10 mile run (16 kilometers) to discover the numerous artistic facets of Paris. More than 2000 years of History… and artistic and architectural creations! Did you notice the numerous Parisian metro entrances with these arabesques forms, as the one that we see on the photo above next to Lysa? These entrances are typical artistic creations of the beginning of the 20th century, this art which we called the “Art Nouveau”. The creator, Hector Guimard, very representative artist of the “Art Nouveau” movement, realized 141 of these entrances of the Parisian subway from 1900 till 1912. Some entrance are even covered with a glass roof. Today, there are only 86 left, 2 with a glass roof as the “Porte Dauphine” one (West of Paris on the Avenue Foch): Hector Guimard’s subway entrances were offered to the subways of other cities as Montreal, Mexico City, Chicago, etc. There is even one in the Washington National Gallery of Art! Still on the Island of “La Cité”, we also admired two Medieval Art examples (vast ensemble of the Middle Ages Arts, covering a period of 1000 years): The famous Cathedral Notre-Dame-de-Paris, representative of the Gothic Art: Lysa and the Cathedral “Notre Dame de Paris” (on the left, the temporary installations celebrating 850 years of Notre-Dame) The Clock of the Conciergerie (for more information, read this article) : Lysa – Tour de l’Horloge (tower of the Clock) Further west, we met two forms of more recent arts: A plant wall! One of the first green walls realized by Patrick Blanc, who invented the concept of plant walls. This one was created in 2004, on one of the Quai Branly Museum administration building walls: Lysa – Vegetation wall (Patrick Blanc 2004) And of course, the famous Iron tower, the Eiffel Tower! The Tower was built for the World Fair of 1889. From 1889 to 1931, it was the highest monument in the world. During its construction, it was very criticized, but obtained a big success during the world fair of 1889, success which fell rather fast (in spite of a renewal of curiosity during the World Fair of 1900) We even intended to destroy it… It is now the most emblematic symbol of Paris! Lysa – Eiffel tower It’s a pleasure to run in Paris! Merci Lysa ! The route of the tour:
Parisian perspectives with Karine
Karine – Le Pont Neuf (the New bridge) 7:00 AM – Karine, runner from Quebec, chose to make a Paris Running Tour to prepare the half marathon of Montreal, very close, and also, of course, to take advantage of the sports visit to discover the charm of a Parisian circuit. What beautiful perspectives offered by the morning sun! Look at the photo above with the light beginning to enlighten the “Pont Neuf” (New Bridge), the oldest bridge of Paris (See this article). We left early on this Sunday. At the start of the running, it was still dark. The silhouette of the Eiffel Tower appears in the dawn… Karine – Alexandre III bridge … as the Louvre, while the morning comes: Karine – The Museum of the Louvre seen from the left bank Still running towards the rising sun, we reached the Latin Quarter to meet the Sorbonne University: Karine – “Rue Saint Jacques” – The University of the Sorbonne (and its observatory) The Sorbonne goes follows the “rue Saint Jacques”, former Roman way. The building which we see is the third version of the Sorbonne and dates of the 1880s. The Sorbonne University was established in the XIIIth century by Robert de Sorbon. It is in the heart of the Latin Quarter. Latin Quarter? Hispanic district? No, no! In the Middle Ages, the students already came from the whole world to study there (among them, Dante, Erasmus). To speak together, a single shared language: the Latin! The passers-by eventually called the district Latin Quarter. A little later, we cross the “Pont des Arts” (bridge of the Arts), considered as one of the most romantic of Paris (remember the Padlocks…) What amazing perspectives on this bridge! Karine – Pont des Arts – Click to enlarge this panorama On the North side, the Louvre and the entrance of the “Cour Carrée” (Squared Courtyard), on the South side, the Institute of France, on the West side, the Orsay museum and the “Grand Palais” far off and lastly on the East side, the Island of “La Cité”, which cuts the river Seine with the point formed by the “Square du Vert Galant”. Later by leaving the Louvre, we discover the perspective onto the Opera of Paris, the Garnier Opera. The architect Charles Garnier had refused to see trees along the Avenue of the Opera so that the perspective onto his Opera is not spoiled. Karine – “Avenue de l’Opéra” On our way back, we cross the “Place de la Concorde”, look at both photos below, perspective onto the North and perspective onto the South: Karine – “Place de la Concorde” The church of “La Madeleine” and the National Assembly seem to be reflected. This was intentional. In 1806, Napoleon the 1st adopted the project of creation of a new facade for the former Palace of Duchess Louise of Bourbon, become “Assemblée Nationale” (National Assembly). This new Colonnade (link in French) of the facade reminds by its columns the facade of the Madeleine which faces it. A new axis is given to the facade forming an angle to the original axis of the Bourbon palace and finally, columns are raised by the steps of an impressive staircase so that the Bridge of “La Concorde” does not mask the sight on the bottom of the colonnade. Paris, always in the search for the harmony! Merci Karine ! The route of the tour :
Some nice places to run in Paris
Hayley on Paris historical axis, after the Louvre, the Garden of the Tuileries, the “place de la Concorde” and the Obelisk of Louxor, the Champs-Elysées, the Arc of Triomphe and the business center of “la Défense” with its “Grande Arche” 7:30 AM – Hayley, who lives in Vancouver, began her stay in Paris and in Europe by a sports discovery of the city thanks to a 10 miles route in the company of Paris Running Tour. Hayley is journalist for Lainey Gossip and also a personal trainer. We further recommend her article Travelling and weight management. We fully agree her first advice for travelling 😉 => see the web link that comes with it… Thank you Hayley 🙂 Discover with us some beautiful places of Paris, to run (or not) : The “Cours de la Reine” : This beautiful alley created by Marie de Medici in 1618 is a nice place to run, see this beautiful lawn surrounded with majestic trees and which welcomes a number of statues. At Paris Running Tour, we call this perspective “The Alley of the Statues”. On the photo below, we can see successively the monument to the Russian Expeditionary force having fought in France during the World War I, the statue of General Lafayette (do you remember the small little tortoise ?), the statue of the Liberator Simon Bolivar then the one of the King of the Belgians, Albert the 1st. Hayley – “Cours de la Reine” “Place du Palais Royal” : Having passed by the garden of the Tuileries (see the photo at the beginning of this article), having crossed the Louvre by the passage which leads of the Pyramid to the Street of Rivoli, you discover the beautiful square of the Palais Royal. From there, you can join the gardens of the Palais Royal, the beautiful garden protected by the galleries of the Palais Royal. Hayley – “Place du Palais Royal” The “new banks of the river Seine” : We could not resist to the envy to make a small sprint on the 100 meters running track of the new banks of the Seine, small 2 km paradise in the center of Paris for the runners. Not so easy to accelerate after about 6 miles… On our road, we were also able to admire: The “Hôtel de Ville de Paris” (Paris City Hall), which, this day, welcomed the President of the Federal Republic of Germany (German flags joined to the French flags): Hayley – “Hôtel de Ville de Paris” The magnificent front door of the “Petit Palais”: Hayley – Le Petit Palais as well as one of the Parisian Statues of Liberty (discover them here) : Hayley – Statue of Liberty (“Arts et Métiers”) Merci Hayley ! The route of the tour :
Postcards of an early morning running in Paris with Diana
6:35 AM – Diana, Australian runner, came to settle down with her family for some time in France. What better way to begin the visit of Paris than a very early morning run? Here are some postcards of our cultural and sports visit: We enjoyed very much running on the “Pont des Arts” (Bridge of the Arts): Merci Diana ! The route of the tour:
A magnificent dawn in Paris with Marnie
Marnie – “Pont Louis-Philippe”, on the left, “Ile St-Louis”, in the background, “Ile de La Cité” and Notre-Dame 5:52 AM – Marnie lives in Singapore. After having run several half marathons, Marnie prepares a marathon she will run this autumn. How to prepare a marathon while visiting Paris? A long tour with Paris Running Tour! Ideal to discover the city while doing our training. We thus traveled on a circuit of more than 18 km kilometers, with an amazing Parisian landscape parading under our eyes. We discovered a totally deserted Paris, embellished by the magnificent light of the rising sun. Deserted Paris? A start before 6 am + on Sunday + August! The Parisians went on holiday, tourists still sleeping, well parked cars. Paris only for us! Look on how the “Place de la Concorde” is deserted and beautiful in all the splendor of this summer morning: Marnie – “Place de la Concorde” Nobody in front of the “Palais de Justice” either… The Sainte Chapelle and Conciergerie, which surround it, are still in the quiet before the arrival of the visitors during the day. Marnie – The “Palais de Justice” of Paris, on the left, the “Sainte Chapelle”, on the right, the “Conciergerie” We ran along the river Seine which we crossed several times to benefit from beautiful points of view on Paris: Marnie – “Pont Neuf”, in the background, the “pont des Arts” Marnie – Footbridge Senghor, on the left, the Louvre, on the right the “Musée d’Orsay”, in the background, Notre Dame On the new banks of Paris, we made a little sprint to test the new new athletic track of one hundred meters: Marnie – New banks of Paris, athletic track of 100 meters Souvenir photo on the Esplanade of the Trocadéro, the best point of view to see the Eiffel Tower: Paris Running Tour – Marnie – The Eiffel tower – On the left, the dome of the Invalides Merci Marnie ! The route of the tour:
Around the Louvre with Janaina and Gustavo
7:13 AM – Gustavo and Janaina live in Salvador (Brazil). To visit Paris by running, we chose a beautiful stroll around the Louvre. We left the Grands Boulevards and went through the “passage des Panoramas” (see the previous post), the “Palais Royal”, and then we joined the Louvre, by crossing the Street of Rivoli: The Passage Richelieu connects the street of Rivoli with the Louvre Pyramid and allows to see the beautiful sculptures of the Puget and Marly courtyards (remember the article which speaks about the horses of Marly) : After this small break in front of the passage Richelieu windows, we continued our running at the foot of the Pyramid, the magnificent glass pyramid which respects the central space of the Louvre and allows to see the Louvre in its totality: What was there before the Pyramid? A stand of trees where cars could park. At the foot of the trees, impossible to see all the facades: In the same direction, towards the garden of the Tuileries, we had a photo break to take advantage of the view on the Eiffel Tower, the “Musée d’Orsay” and also some statues of Maillol. Look for them in the bushes by enlarging the photo: We then left the garden of the Tuileries by way of the small tunnel which goes out of the garden by going towards the river Seine. We crossed the Seine by the footbridge Léopold Sédar Senghor and going up the staircases of the bridge, where we enjoyed a beautiful point of view on Notre-Dame: On the other side of the bridge, we saw the beautiful Palace of the Legion of Honor, cleaned recently (we had spoken about its replica in San Francisco here): Evoking the various places to run, we spoke about the immense and long beautiful beaches of Brazil. In Paris, we also have the opportunity to have some beaches 😉 At least from mid-July to mid-August, the banks of the “Right bank”, in particular, welcome the operation “Paris-Plages“: A little farther, near the Louvre, is the Louvre Oratory, with the Statue of the “Amiral de Coligny”, whose tragic end reminds us sad moments of the French History: On our road, we passed by the beautiful “Véro Dodat” gallery and we were amazed by the height of a famous Parisian shoemaker’s shoes (see below, near the passage, the Christian Louboutin’s first shop): Merci Janaina, merci Gustavo ! The route of the tour:
Running in the Parisian Passages with Michelle and Susan
Susan and Michelle – The river Seine near the Tuileries garden, in front of the Orsay Museum 9:03 AM – Susan and Michelle are two New-York road-runners (NY – USA). Michelle prepares at present the Marathon of Chicago. After a first visit of Paris last year, their choice was for a little bit different route. We started near the Seine on the left bank. Look on the photo above, the new “emmarchement” in front of the Orsay Museum, “emmarchement” which is a part of the new banks of the Seine (very much enjoyed by runners). Having crossed the pedestrian footbridge Léopold-Sédar-Senghor, run in the Garden of the Tuileries and admired the place Vendôme, we were able to cross our first covered passage, the long passage Choiseul: Michelle, Susan – Passage Choiseul Not far from there, it is with pleasure that we met the beautiful “salle Favart”, National Theater of the “Opéra Comique” : Michelle and Susan – Opéra Comique It is the third “Salle Favart” built in 1898, both previous ones having burned. Second covered passage on our route, the Passage of the Panoramas, the oldest passage of Paris (we had already spoken about it here) : Susan, Michelle – “Passage des Panoramas” Just in front of the “Passage des Panoramas” is the Passage Jouffroy where a curious medieval character welcomes you: Susan and Michelle with a character of the Grévin Museum It is about one of the numerous wax characters of the Grévin Museum, the Parisian counterpart of Madam Tussauds of London. The entrance of the museum is situated in the Grand boulevards and the exit in the Passage Jouffroy. A little later, we found an old acquaintance, the Statue of Liberty (well, a Parisian younger sister…): Susan, Michelle – The Statue of Liberty in the museum of “Arts et Métiers” To know more about the Parisian statues of Liberty, click here. We continued our road and again crossed magnificent passages: “Passage du Grand Cerf” “Galerie Vero-Dodat” “Galerie Vivienne” These Parisian passages were approximately 150 in the middle of the 19th century, there are less than thirty nowadays. Our running allowed us to cross nine of them, among the most beautiful: We ended the tour by crossing the beautiful garden of the “Palais Royal”, isolated from the Parisian street by its long galleries of arcades, Michelle, Susan – Garden of the “Palais Royal” participated in the work of art constituted by the Columns of Buren (“Les deux plateaux” of the Artist Daniel Buren), On the columns of Buren in the “Palais Royal” and made a small break in front of the Louvre before crossing again the Seine to join the Left bank. Susan and Michelle – The Louvre museum Look on the Louvre Pyramid the sign of the Third Paradise, bound to The temporary exhibition of Michelangelo Pistoletto. Merci Susan, merci Michelle ! The route of the tour :